"The Pull of The Sea"
[Intro]
Carver’s Harbor awaits in the silvery-gray light
Gulls wheel and dive where the tide pulls tight
The engine throttle is low as he casts off alone
Past Heron Neck Light to the white, shiny foam
[Verse 1]
His Bean boots are on the deck like his father's before
His lines are coiled neatly, traps stacked by the door
Through Sand Cove’s hush and The Reach’s wide blue
He’s worked these scenic waters since he was twenty-two
[Chorus]
But his eldest boy’s got a mind full of faraway things
Of bright city lights and what a different life might bring
He says this old life is just like Old Sow
…a giant whirlpool pulling him down
While his old man sees Vinalhaven as a sacred hometown
[Verse 2]
He remembers setting traps together in the morning spray
And throttling past Brown’s Head in the middle of the day
His son would gaze out where distant islands unfold
Where the pastel sky meets the sea in ribbons of gold
[Instrumental Breakdown]
(Guitar/fiddle/squeeze box break that paints the seascape in sound—lift and movement, openness, melancholy)
[Verse 3]
They would haul up the traps with the seaweed clinging tight
With two Maine lobsters grappling in the pale morning light
The lobsterman threw his head back and let out a big laugh
As his son lost his footing, falling hard on his ass
[Bridge]
Look son, you don’t owe me a thing, but the sea’s in your bones
Like the wind through the spruce trees or a foghorn’s moan
You may chase the hottest new tech, but I hope you’ll recall
The reach of this great harbor and what matters most of all
[Verse 4]
Back he came with his boys on the dawn-lit tide
Past Thorofare ledges where the gray gulls glide
At Carver’s Wharf he balanced books, wire traps stacked in neat wraps
While harbor waters lapped the pilings through their tide-worn gaps
[Chorus]
Some boys leave the harbor, chasing the wind
But the pull of these headlands brings them home again
The ocean keeps calling, the island still sings
Love handed down through the simplest things
[Verse 5]
Brimstone sunrise burning orange as he gripped the wheel
He felt his father’s phantom hand steady the seasoned keel
In The Basin’s deep dark stillness he finally found his way
Resolute—this old home by the bay is where they’ll stay
[Final Chorus – Variation]
So raise up your trap line and ride with the tide
The heart of a lobsterman will not be denied
Through storm or through calm, it’s where you belong
The sea is your cradle, the harbor your song
[Outro – Instrumental]
